Supporting Trauma Informed SHS Organisations – SHS

This practical and interactive training recognises the importance of creating system wide Trauma Informed Organisations when working effectively in homelessness, particularly given the increasing awareness of the history and impact of trauma in the lives of people experiencing or at risk of homelessness, and which significantly impacts on how people think, feel, behave, relate to others, and cope with future experiences. It also recognises the increasing concerns about service systems inadvertently re-traumatizing clients, and importantly, evidence of improved outcomes in services that have adopted Trauma Informed Practice.

Participants will gain a better understanding of the prevalence, types and dynamics of trauma, common coping strategies, how complex trauma impacts on their adult sense of self, wellbeing, life opportunities, relationships, and when unresolved how this can impact on the next generation and identify a practical action plan to work together to implement.

The workshop introduces the foundational principles of trauma-informed practice, and the diverse range of service areas to which they need to be applied. It draws on the latest research presented in the ASCA Practice Guidelines for Treatment of Complex Trauma and Trauma Informed Care and Service Delivery. It also draws on the US Trauma-Informed Organizational Toolkit for homeless services, and facilitates participants to undertake the toolkit’s Trauma-Informed Organizational Self-Assessment to help identify their organisation’s current trauma Informed practice strengths and areas for improvement. The Consumer Version of the self assessment will also be used to identify ways to strengthen consumer experience of trauma informed service delivery.